


The Cardinal Rule

by Bookenchantress



Category: Magisterium Series - Holly Black & Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Anxiety Attacks, Coming of Age, Declarations Of Love, Denial of Feelings, Enemies to Friends, Everybody Lives, Everyone Is Gay, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/F, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, M/M, Sloppy Makeouts, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Dancing, Slow Romance, Status Updates, every Sunday, more tags coming in soon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-04-16 19:52:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14172234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bookenchantress/pseuds/Bookenchantress
Summary: But there was a rule, the Cardinal Rule is what Aaron liked to call it, that he should follow. No matter how hard or how trying it was to avoid. The Cardinal Rule is to never fall in love with your best friend.As of right now, Aaron Stewart is breaking that rule.





	1. Aaron

There are people who follow rules, and people who don’t.

  
There’s no in between. If you get worried whether or not you’re breaking a rule, then you’re a rule-follower. If you completely disregard and couldn’t give an actual damn about them then you’re a rule-breaker. It’s simple.

  
Aaron, if there‘s only one way to describe him, is a rule-follower. He follows rules. He’s never really had problems with them in the past back in grade school. Always the teacher’s pet, always the good kid. He supposed it was due to the fact of every foster family he‘s ever been in- the first words they utter to him are the rules. As he was growing up every family had been strict with their rules. Aaron has always thought that rules were good for him, that they protect him. That they always have reasons for being here. It’s their entire reason for being, obviously.

  
Aaron took rules that stood in his friendship with Call and Tamara especially seriously. There are obvious ones like: Friends always come first. Everyone takes equal turns taking Havoc on walks. They all go to the Gallery together.

  
And ones that Aaron had to find out the hard way. Things like: Don’t accidentally insult Tamara in an argument (That was scary); Don’t fiddle with Call’s espresso machine (Lest he faces the wrath of the Enemy of Death); Call only goes by Call; Don’t automatically assume that Aaron has a plan when they get in tough situations.

  
But there‘s a rule, the Cardinal Rule is what Aaron liked to call it, that he should always follow. No matter how hard or how trying it is to avoid. The Cardinal Rule was to never fall in love with your best friend.

  
As of right now, Aaron Stewart is breaking that rule.

* * *

 

Way back when he came through the Magisterium entrance hallway, dark yet illuminated by gems and strange glowing elementals, he swallowed the uneasiness and continued on, knowing there was good reason that students weren’t allowed to walk near the entrance or any narrow corridors. Especially Iron Years.

  
He met the rest of his group later on after the tour, Master Rufus’ apprentices. There was Tamara Rajavi, whom he’s gotten himself somewhat acquainted with on the bus. She was like him, he had thought back then (she’s way different now). She‘s pretty no doubt, with black and somewhat-frizzy hair in two long braids. She looked calm and collected, almost stoic, if he didn’t know she was also twelve-years old. But she was from a respected family, so that could be a reason.

  
And then there was the boy... _‘Callum Hunt,_ ’ Aaron recalled, remembering that name because of the particular event that happened on the Iron Trial. His father, Alastair, was yelling his name, trying to get him away from the other mages. He also had dark black hair, somewhat long as the locks curled at his ears. He had a resting scowl on his face, not looking very joyful to be here. Aaron wouldn’t think so, noticing the effort they took to apparently fail the trial. His gray eyes were ones from winter. It made him look ominous yet kinda cute. He was a strange one, but Aaron wanted to try to be friends with him nonetheless. They were a small group, much smaller than the usual, but that was good enough for Aaron.

Aaron stretched out a hand to Call, who was sitting on one of the green bean sacks in their Common Room, who was slouching in one of the green bean bag sacks, “Hey!” His smile was a welcoming one. “Callum, right? I’m Aaron.”

Call frowned, eyeing his hand, “It’s just Call,” he said and started to retreat to his room.

"Where are you going?" He asked before he could stop himself. Call’s head cocked to the side, his gray eyes shifting from the ground to Aaron.

Aaron’s heart stopped. All he could manage was an "Uh...." He dug into his jean pocket, "I'm guessing you’ll need one of these?" He lifted a bracelet, the ones Master Rufus gave to them on the way here, and handed it to him.

Call raised a brow, “Where did you get that.” His voice was soft-spoken and mellow, sending a warm glow throughout his body. "How do you know?"

"You dropped it."

”Well, thank you.” Call halted turned around and smiled slightly, “Aaron, right?”

He nodded. Call also nodded, “Cute name,” he muttered and entered his room.

* * *

 

It seems like that’s how it all started, him meeting Call and Tamara. Their friendship grew into something Aaron could never even have thought existed. They’ve had their challenges. Aaron could hardly believe it when he found out that Call, crippled Call, is _the_ Enemy of Death. Reincarnated.

  
It was difficult to get into their train of normal as friends, the silences after serious conversation (their only conversations during that period) were filled with uneasiness, but soon he and Tamara got used to the idea. They never thought of Call as any different anyway. Call was their friend. The three of them are a team. A team that Aaron doesn’t want to ruin.

You see the reason Aaron‘ breaking his rule, the most important rule, was due to one person. His name was Callum Hunt.

And Aaron is undoubtedly, unquestionably, without a shadow of a doubt falling for him.


	2. Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They get ready to party. Call’s POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating last Saturday. Hectic week. Here’s the second chapter hope you enjoy!
> 
> -Jenn ;)
> 
> P.S. Going to change updates to be uploaded every SUNDAY rather than SATURDAY

  
A shout of surprise was heard throughout Call’s home that came from the garage, quickly followed by an exaggerated “Whoo-hoo!” and a very cheesy victory dance.

Call laughed loudly as Aaron’s robot continued to shutter and spark and smoke from Call’s little trick, the putrid smell of duct tape that stunk the room did nothing to deter Call’s shameless dance. The talk of being a gracious winner by his father never really did much to help Call’s complete lack of sportsmanship.

Alastair came running in just then, his eyes wide, “Hey-Hey not so close to my car! I just fixed thing.”

Call smiled despite the scolding, felt very relaxed. In fact he’s felt this very good, sunny feeling since the summer began. He even stopped assigning himself Evil Overlord Points, too. And as far as the world knows, the Enemy of Death, Constantine Madden, was dead, killed by Alastair. After the summer they’d be heading back to the Magisterium- this time they’d be Bronze Years. And that is something Call can look forward to. Though, he couldn’t get the thought that things were going too smoothly. It was probably nothing, just Call being paranoid.

Besides, Aaron’s robot was a smoking wreck, to the Makar’s absolute and utter dismay.

Things were alright- better than alright, things were great.

“I hope you guys remembered,” Alastair said, putting his tools back on the shelf of the garage. “Tonight is the party at the Collegium.” At their confused faces, he raised a brow, “You know- the one in our honor.”

Call looked to his right to see Aaron’s matching face of horror and bewilderment. Call couldn’t believe that they had forgotten. Although, their days had been mushed together of ice cream, teaching Aaron how to skateboard (that had been both hilarious and amusing as well as cringy and scary), movies (How on earth had Aaron never watched the Star War movies?), and video games, so, really, it’s no surprise that they had completely blanked out on the fact that the Assembly was currently throwing a party for them at the Collegium- in _their_ honor- in celebration that the Enemy of a Death is no more after thirteen years of cold war.

The Assembly of Mages chose five people to honor- him, Aaron, Tamara, Alastair, and Jasper.

Call swallowed the unexpected lump in his throat, “I don’t have any clothes to wear,” he said with weak protest.

“Neither do I,” Aaron looked a little startled.

Alastair waved his hand in dismissal, “Not a problem. That’s why we’re going to the mall,” said Alastair, holding his car keys. “Come on, boys.”

Inside the car Aaron leaned over to Call, “Tamara’s parents took me to Brooks Brothers,” he whispered, “it was kind of weird.”

Call thought of the tiny local mall that they were no doubt going to and grinned, “Well, get ready for a different kind of weird,” he said. “We’re going to travel backward in time _without_ magic.”

When Call smiled, Aaron smiled as well, his neck was tinted in a little darker shade of red, confusing Call but he figured it was just from the heat of the car.

* * *

 

  
Call leaned by on one the pillar walls, watching Aaron stand in front of a full-length mirror in the back of JL Dimes. “I think I may be allergic to this material,” Aaron said, cringing at the mirror. Call couldn’t tell if he was serious of if he, too, thought that the clothes were just terrible. The store sold everything- clothes, cheap dishwashers, even tractors. Alastair always bought overalls here. Call absolutely hated it.

“It looks fine,” Alastair assured, looking at a vacuum he found and examined it- most likely for parts. He also got a nice suit jacket but failed to try it on.

Aaron looked back at the alarmingly shiny oversized, gray suit; it’s legs and arms bagged around Aaron’s, ruffling and looking like shark fins.

“Okay,” Aaron nodded his head meekly. Aaron was always conscious when people bought things for him, thinking that it was a favor. He hadn’t any money or parents to get him anything, so he was always very grateful.

Call sighed, pinching his nose, and shook his head, “I don’t think this is going to work, Dad.” Call squinted at the mirror, trying to move his arms in the blue polyester, that squeezed and tighten under his arms, and the pants cut of above his ankles. “These may not be our sizes.”

Alastair looked between the two of them, “A suit’s a suit. Aaron can grow into his, and you- well, we’ll find something else. No use buying something only good for one night.

“I’ll ask Tamara,” Call whipped out his phone and took a picture of the two of them in front of the mirror. Call snorted as Aaron smiled awkwardly into the camera, adding in the peace sign and sent it.

A bird tweet followed soon after with a buzz of Call’s phone when Tamara texted back: _Aaron looks like a con man that got hit with a shrink ray, and Call, you look like you’re going to Catholic school._

Aaron looked over Call’s padded shoulder and cringed at the message, “Yeah, that’s what we were going for.” He muttered with sarcasm.

Call looked again at the picture. ‘ _I think I’m going to save that._ ’

“Well,” Alastair tried, “we could duct tape the legs. Make them look shorter.”

“ _Or_ ,” Call pointed out. “We could go to a different store and not embarrass ourselves in front of the Assembly.”

Alastair sighed and reluctantly put back the vacuum. “Okay, let’s go.”

It was a relief to get out of the suffocating, airless mall. And a little while later, a Call and Aaron were standing in front of a thrift shop, owned by Miranda Keyes. Call’s been here before with his dad and knew her as well. Miranda loves vintage clothing, and had no respect for matching clothes, as seen by her choice of clothing.

Now, Call knew his father could be “eccentric”, which was just a nice way of saying weird, but as Call saw Aaron looking around the vintage store with a hesitant smile his heart sank. Just because Alastair wanted to dress with mismatched, vintage clothing doesn’t mean that Aaron had to be “eccentric”.

It had been bad enough that Aaron had to drink lemonade from powdered mix, rather than freshly squeezed lemons from the Rajavi’s, and run under a sprinkler made from knife holes in a garden hose, and regular cereal in comparison to steamy bacon and eggs cooked to perfection by a personal chef. If Aaron shows up at this party looking stup- “eccentric”, then that might be final straw. Call might lose the Best Friend War for sure.

All the while when Call was having his little mental crisis, Alastair got around to telling Miranda what they needed. Miranda motioned to follow her to the back for the suits. She gave them each an evaluating stare, narrowing her eyes as if trying to see something no one else could; she wheeled around and disappeared into one of the storage closets.

“Wonder what it’s going to be.” Aaron said, looking at some of the random trifles and knick-knacks on the shelf.

Call merely shrugged.

They amused themselves by looking around the store to find the weirdest things. Aaron found a Batman-shaped alarm clock that got Aaron himself bursting into giggles whenever he pressed the top which shouted the words WAKE UP WONDER BOY!- that made Call smile.

Call unearthed a sweater covered- and Call meant _covered_ \- in a colorful variety of taped-together lollipops. And Call suddenly got an idea.

“Here,” Call handed Aaron the sweater with a poker face. “Try it on.”

Aaron looked confused but put it on nonetheless. As Aaron put it on, Call was finding it much harder to keep his poker face intact. It was when Aaron finally got it suited was when Call burst laughing, he patted his pockets for a phone. Not only was it because it just _fit_ Aaron, it was the complete look of shock on his face when he realized why Call was laughing.

Aaron rolled his eyes, pink dusted his cheeks, “Very funny, Call.” He spread his arms out and looked at a mirror, “I look like an oversized gingerbread man.”

Call snickered still, putting a hand on his chin and looking Aaron over. “Oh, I don’t know. I think it makes you look _very_ sweet.”

Aaron’s definitely flustered now, removing the sweater with haste. “Shut up, Call.” He said with reddened cheeks as Call laughed. “Come on, not yet. I need to take a picture!”

“No way!” Aaron dumped the sweater in Call’s arms, though he, too, was smiling.

Miranda came back just then with the suit folded neatly in her hands, humming some old pop-like tune. She set them down on the counter, pulling out dressing jacket for Alastair. It looked like it was made from satin with a subtle, deep green pattern to it. Call liked the bright silk lining. It was definitely old and weird- “eccentric”, but definitely in a non-embarrassing way.

“Now,” she said, pointing at Call and Aaron with excited eyes, “your turn.”

She handed each one of the a folded linen suit. Aaron’s was the color of cream and Call’s was a shade of gray.

“Ohh, I always love that color,” Miranda gushed, pointing at Call’s suit. “Dove gray. Very nice.”

‘ _Dove gray then._ ’

“It’ll look very nice.” She nodded her head in glee. “Very nice, indeed.”

Alastair looked at his watch and his eyes flew wide comically, “Well, we’ll have to take your word for for it, Miss Keyes, we’re late.”

Call’s eyebrow raised in question, and Aaron looked worried. Oh, yeah. Call probably look more concerned for this. Whatever, he’s never been into parties that much.

“Is this for a special occasion,” Miss Keyes asked.

“Yes, you could say that,” Alastair looked pleased. “They’re receiving rewards.”

“For..um.. community service,” said Aaron. Aaron met Call’s eyes in the mirror. Call shrugged. He guessed it was only a half-lie, although most community services don’t involve severed heads.

“Fantastic!” Miranda said. “They’ll both look very handsome, then.”

‘ _Handsome?_ ’ Call never thought of himself as handsome. Aaron, however, was the handsome one of the two of them. Not him. Call was the one short, limped, and sharp-featured. Though, Call supposed, people who are trying to sell you things have to tell you you’re handsome or beautiful.

Alastair nodded his head, “Thank you, Miranda. Do they need anything else.”

“Well, of course.” Miranda said, “Shirts, obviously. Shoes, cuff links, oh!- I have a lot of nice ties-“

“I don’t need you to buy me anything else, Mr. Hunt,” Aaron looked anxious. “Really.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Alastair said with a surprising light tone of voice. “Miranda and I are in business. We’ll work out a trade.”

“Oh,” Aaron said, looking a little relieved.

Alastair looked at Miranda, seeing her smiling. “There was a little Victorian brooch at your store I had my eye on.”

At that, Alastair stiffened a little, then relaxed almost immediately into a laugh. “Well, for that we’re definitely taking the cuff links, and some shoes- if you’ve got any.”

* * *

 

 

By the time they left, they had huge bags filled with clothes and Call was feeling pretty good, very unlike how he feels after shopping for almost three hours.

They had barely enough time to shower and comb their hair. Call stared at his reflection. He didn’t know much about clothes, but the did suit fit him, (thankfully) and he didn’t look bizarre. He actually looked kind of grown up. The light colors made him look tan.

Call sat on one of the high chair stools, munching on a cookie. He diagnosed himself as nervous, because he usually stress eats.

Alastair reeked of some ancient cologne and looked good with the new suit jacket and black pants he must had unearthed from his wardrobe. He looked very different from the dad the dressed in work overalls and smelled of oil and car gas. He wandered the house, muttering for his keys.

“You ready, Call?” Aaron’s voice interrupted his thoughts, and Call spun around at the sound of his voice.

The sight he saw stopped the words from escaping his mouth. Aaron looked- he looked very handsome. The cream complimented Aaron’s skin very nicely. ‘ _Nice. That was one way to describe it. And charming. It was almost as if- Wait what?’_

Call realized he had been staring too long when Aaron looked around the room uncomfortably, pink creeping up his neck.

Call felt his own cheeks grow hot as well. ‘ _Well, that’s just great. Nice, Call._ ’

Call cleared his throat and stopped short when forest green eyes darted in his direction, meeting his eyes and hiding something Call never saw before.

“You, uh, you look good.” Call said, nodding and smiling at Aaron, hoping his smile looked relaxed enough and not too creepy.

Aaron smiled back, filling Call with a weird warm feeling, “Thank you,” Aaron replied. “You, too.”

Call looked surprised, “Really.”

“Yes, it matches your eyes, Call.”

“...Thank you.”

They were silent after that. Though it was uncomfortable and not so bad at the small, confusing time.

Alastair walked in with a smile, holding the keys in triumph, and shook his car keys, jangling Call out of his reverie. “Come on,” Alastair said. “The Assembly doesn’t like it when its honorees are late.”

Havoc tailed them to the door, then sat with a thump and a thin whine. “Can he come?” Call asked his father as they walked out the door. “He’ll be good. And he deserves an award, too.”

Aaron smiled at Havoc as he leaned against the wall, looking at the three with puppy dog eyes.

“Absolutely not,” said Alastair.

“Is it because you don’t trust him around the Assembly?” Call asked.

“It’s because I don’t trust the Assembly around him,” Alastair replied with a stern look. Then he headed out the door, leaving Call no choice but to follow.

Call petted Havoc’s head, followed by Aaron, who laughed when Havoc pounced on him licking his face ferociously. Call had to grab Aaron’s arm and pull him up to get him from Havoc.

Call shook his head in disbelief, “Sometimes, I think he likes you more than me.”

“You know that’s not true.”

Call shrugged, turning to exit the door, but got stopped by Aaron’s hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Aaron grab a napkin from the kitchen counter and bring it to Call’s face, wiping the outer corners of his lips with quick brushes.

“There were cookie crumbs.” Aaron muttered under his breath, but they were close enough to hear every word. “You look great.”

Then with a quick smile, Aaron left through the door.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Going to change updates to be uploaded every SUNDAY rather than SATURDAY


	3. Aaron

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to party, I suppose. Call, Aaron, and Alastair get to the party. Pretty late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for waiting and being very patient! I hope you all enjoy!
> 
> -Jenn ;)

  
The Collegium was much bigger than Aaron had pictured it in his head.

It was very beautiful to say the least. Dozens of white-laced table cloth over dark mahogany tables and atop a vase of flowers that Aaron wasn’t even sure were “actual” flowers. It was most likely stemmed by magic. The entire place looked good and tinted in a gold hue from the dozens of jewels that lay encrusted within the lights.

Aaron looked to Call on his right, seeing him tugging at the hem of his suit jacket. Aaron sighed, knowing Call was nervous, and placed his hand on Call’s shoulder.

“It’s alright, Call. No need to worry.”

Call bit his lip, “Right ‘cause I’m being stupid, worryin’ over nothing.” His southern accent really only came back when he was upset or nervous.

Aaron pinched his nose, “That’s not what I meant.” Aaron raised a brow, “Or said.”

“Yeah, I know. Sorry.”

Aaron sighed internally, “We should go and find Tamara. See if she knows what we’re supposed to do at a party like this.”

“I could use those tips,” Call laughed.

Aaron nodded his head in agreement.

“Is this what it’s like for you all the time?” he asked Aaron in a quiet voice, “Like being the hero and all this honoring stuff.”

“Not before last summer,” Aaron shrugged. “Anyway, I thought you wanted to be a hero.”

Call went quiet for a second, perhaps thinking about being claimed to kill Constantine Madden, but... well... Anyway, Constantine is dead. Master Jacob cannot get Call’s soul (at least Aaron won’t let him) and resurrect the Enemy of Death.  
  
Finally they came to where the Assembly was waiting, separated from the rest of the room by floating silver ropes. Anastasia Tarquin, (Aaron was told) one of the most powerful members of the Assembly, was talking to Tamara’s mother. Tarquin was an extremely tall, older woman with masses of upswept, bright silver hair, and Tamara’s mother had to crane her neck to look at her.

Tamara was standing with Celia and Jasper, all three of them laughing about something perhaps Tamara had said. It was the first time Aaron had seen Tamara since the start of summer. She was wearing a bright yellow dress that made her brown skin glow. Her hair fell in heavy, dark waves around her face and down her back. She looked very pretty. And beautiful.

Celia had done something weird and elegant and complicated with her blond hair. She was in a seafoam-green gauzy thing that seemed to waft around her.

Both the girls turned toward Call and Aaron. Tamara’s face lit up and Celia smiled. Call looked a little bit like someone had kicked him in the chest. He was looking at Tamara which gave Aaron a queasy feeling. He brushed it away as he saw Tamara run over to him, giving a quick hug. Celia hung back as though struck with sudden shyness. It was Jasper who came up to Call, clapping him on the shoulder. Jasper just looked like his usual smug self, his dark hair sticking up with hair gel.

“So, how’s the ole E-o-D, himself?” Jasper whispered, making Call flinch. Aaron rolled his eyes at Jasper’s antics, but still greeting him with a ‘bro-shake’, “You’re the star of the show.”

It was obvious to Aaron that Call hated that Jasper knew the truth about him. But even he was fairly sure Jasper would never reveal his secret. Aaron trusted Jasper, he knew that was enough. Although, it didn’t stop Jasper from making comments and needling him every chance he got.

“Come,” Master Rufus appeared. “Time is wasting. We have a ceremony to attend, whether we want to or not.”

With that, Call, Aaron, Tamara, Jasper, Master Rufus, Master Milagros, and Alastair were herded up onto a raised dais. Celia waved good-bye as they went.

Aaron knew they were in trouble when he saw there were chairs up on the dais. He shot all a look of utter horror which was mirrored by Call’s features. Chairs meant a long ceremony. He wasn’t wrong. The ceremony went by in a blur, but it was an extended and boring blur. Various Assembly members made speeches about how integral they personally had been to the mission. “They couldn’t have done it without me,” said a blond Assembly member Aaron had never seen before. Master Rufus and Master Milagros were praised for having such fine apprentices. The Rajavis were praised for having raised such a brave daughter. Alastair was praised for his diligence in leading their expedition. The kids themselves were credited with being the greatest heroes of their lives time.

It was strange, though.

No one mentioned severed heads or the whole misunderstanding where they had thought Alastair was in league with the Enemy or how no one at the Magisterium had even known that the kids were going on the mission. Everyone acted like this had been the plan all along.

They were all given their Bronze Year wristbands and stones of glimmering red beryl to show the worth of their accomplishment.

Aaron watched Call step up to have Master Rufus place the stone in his wristband. The red beryl went in with a click, like a lock being shut, Aaron knew.

“Callum Hunt, Makar!” someone in the room shouted. Someone else stood up and cried out Aaron’s name. Aaron let the shouts wash over him like a bewildering tide.

“Call and Aaron! Makaris, Makaris, Makaris!”

Master Rufus came forward toward Aaron and Call. Aaron looked over at Call who looked a bit shaken, and saw that his gaze was trailing Anastasia Tarquin. Aaron was about to ask Call about it but Master Rufus beat him to it. “Makars,” he said. “This isn’t just a celebration. We have something to discuss.”

“Right here?” Aaron asked, a little startled.

Rufus shook his head. “It’s time for you to see something very few apprentices ever see. The War Room. Come with me.”

Tamara looked after Aaron and Call worriedly as they were led away through the crowd. “The War Room?” Aaron muttered. “What’s that?”

Call shook his head, just as lost as he was.

Master Rufus led them expertly behind the floating ropes, avoiding the eyes of the crowd, until they reached a door set into the far wall. It was a bronze door, carved with the shapes of tall ships sailing, cannons, and explosions over the sea.

‘ _Probably to tell some kind of story_ ,’ Aaron assumed.

Rufus pushed the door open, and they entered the War Room. Aaron’s words about why there were no windows echoed in his own head — because there were plenty of windows here. There was a marble floor, but every other surface was glass, and the glass glowed with enchanted light. Beyond the glass Aaron could see sea creatures swimming by: fish with brightly colored stripes, sharks with coal-black eyes, graceful flapping rays.

“Whoa,” said Aaron, craning his neck. “Look up.”

Call did and saw the water above them along with him, glowing with the light of the surface. Aaron smiled at Call’s shocked face, his face looked as if it glowed from the water that illuminated above. His smile faltered though, when Call hastily tapped Tamara’s shoulder and made her look up seeing her shocked face brought a smile to Call’s face.

Aaron looked away. _‘You have a rule, Aaron. Follow it.’_

A school of silvery fish shot by and then pivoted according to some unseen signal, all of them racing off in the new direction.

“Sit,” Assemblyman Graves — old, grumpy, and mean — said. “We realize this is a celebration, but there are things we must discuss. Master Rufus, you and your two apprentices should sit here.” He indicated chairs beside him.

Call and Aaron exchanged a reluctant glance before shuffling over to take their seats. The rest of the Assembly members were arranging themselves around the table, making small talk. Above them, visible beyond the glass, an eel ribboned its way through the sea and snapped up a slow-moving fish. Aaron wondered if it was an ominous sign.

Once the room had quieted down, Graves resumed speaking. “Thanks to the efforts of our honorees this evening, we are having a very different discussion than we could have anticipated having. Constantine Madden is dead.” He looked around the room as if waiting for that information to sink in. Aaron couldn’t help feeling that if it hadn’t sunk in yet, it never would, given how many times The Enemy of Death is dead! had been repeated during the honoring ceremony.

“And yet” — Graves slammed his hand down on the table, making Call jump — “we cannot rest! Constantine Madden might be defeated, but his army is still out there. We must strike now and root out the Chaos-ridden and all of Constantine’s allies.” Aaron will admit, he hadn’t thought of that possibility before. It did almost seem that it was too good that this was all over.

A murmur went around the room. “No one has been able to detect any sign of the Chaos-ridden since Madden’s death,” said Master North. “It’s as if they disappeared when he died.”

Several mages looked hopeful at this, but Graves only shook his head grimly. “They are out there somewhere. We must assemble teams to hunt them down and destroy them.”

Aaron looked to Call, seeing him look a little queasy.

“What about Chaos-ridden animals?” asked Anastasia Tarquin. “Most of them never served the Enemy of Death; they’re the descendants of the unfortunate creatures that did. Unlike the Chaos-ridden people, they’re alive, not reanimated bodies.”

“Still, they’re dangerous. I move that we exterminate them all,” Graves said.

“Not Havoc!” Call yelled before anyone could stop him.

Aaron agreed. They all (meaning he, Call, Tamara, Alastair, and even Jasper) have gotten used and closer to the wolf. Aaron will defend Havoc with Call whenever the situation asked for it.

The members of the Assembly turned at Call’s direction. Anastasia had a small smile on her face, as though she’d enjoyed his outburst. She seemed like someone who didn’t mind when things didn’t go the way everyone else expected. Her gaze slid to Aaron, gauging his reaction.

“The pet of the Makaris,” she said, looking back at Call. “Surely Havoc can be exempted.”

Aaron hadn’t expected her to defend them.

“And the Order of Disorder has been studying other Chaos-ridden beasts. Keeping some alive for their research has value,” added Rufus.

Aaron could tell Call was internally singing Master Rufus his praises, given by the look of gratitude on his face.

The Order of Disorder was a small group of rebellious mages who lived in the woods just outside the Magisterium, studying chaos magic. Aaron wasn’t sure what he thought of them. It wouldn’t be very positive if he were to think of it. They’d tried to force him to stay and help with their chaos experiments. They hadn’t been nice about it, either.

“Yes, yes,” said Graves dismissively. “Perhaps a small number can be saved, although I have never much cared for the Order of Disorder, as you well know. We need to keep an eye on them, to be sure that none of Constantine’s conspirators are hiding out among them. And we need to find Master Joseph. We cannot forget that he’s still dangerous and will almost certainly attempt to use the Alkahest against us.”

“Lastly, we must make sure that Callum Hunt and Aaron Stewart use their Makar abilities in the service of the Assembly and the larger mage community. Master Rufus, it is going to be integral that you report regularly on their teaching as they move into their Bronze, Silver, and Gold Years, readying themselves to go to the Collegium.”

‘ _Oh boy,’_ Aaron looked at Call. _‘That’s going to be fun.’_

“They are my apprentices.” Master Rufus raised a single brow. “I need to have independence to teach them as I see fit.”

“We can discuss that later,” said Graves. “They are Makars before they are students of the Magisterium. It would be well for both you and them to remember that.”

Aaron shot Call a worried glance. Master Rufus looked grim.

Graves went on. “Due to the Magisterium’s proximity to the largest number of Chaos-ridden animals, we’re going to expect the school to take point on their destruction.”

“You can’t possibly expect the students of the Magisterium to spend their school time murdering animals,” protested Master Rufus, rising to his feet. “I object strongly to this suggestion. Master North?”

“I agree with Rufus,” said Master North, after a pause.

“They’re not animals. They’re monsters,” Graves argued. “The woods around the Magisterium have been full of them for years, and we haven’t treated the situation with the seriousness that we could, because the Enemy could always have made more. But now — now we have a chance to exterminate them.”

“They may be monsters,” said Rufus, “but they look like animals. And there are those, like Havoc, who give us all pause and reason to wonder if they might be saved rather than destroyed. Surely it is in the interests of the whole mage world for our students to learn mercy. Constantine Madden,” he added, in a low voice, “never did.”

Graves shot him a look of something very close to hatred. “Fine,” he said in a clipped voice. “The removal of the Chaos-ridden animals will be dealt with by a team headed up by myself and other members of the Assembly. Please don’t expect me to entertain any complaining about how we’ll be cluttering up the woods where your students practice. This is more important than your school.”

“Of course,” Master Rufus said, still in the same low voice. Aaron saw Call try to catch his eye, but Rufus was imperturbable.

“That leaves us with one last point of business,” said Graves. “The spy.”

“What?” Tamara whispered towards Aaron.

This time the murmur that ran around the table was getting very loud.

“We have reason to believe there is a spy in the Magisterium,” Graves pronounced. “Someone freed the elemental monster Automotones and sent him to kill the Makar Aaron Stewart.”

Everyone looked at Call and Aaron.

“Yep,” Call said. “That did happen.”

Graves nodded. “We will be placing various spy traps in the school, and Anastasia will be guarding the tunnels where the great elementals are kept. The spy will be caught and dealt with appropriately.”

Spy traps? Aaron mouthed to Call. Call looked as if he were trying not to laugh.

 

  
After the Assembly meeting Aaron and Call were free to roam the party as they pleased. Hors d’oeuvres were being passed around the party.

They met up with Jasper and Celia who looked bright with laughter.

“So,” Jasper said coming up to them, eyebrows raised. “What happened in the super secret meeting.”

“Weird.” Aaron grabbed a cheese puff from a passing waiter’s silver tray and stuffed it into his mouth. Unfortunately hunger had taken over and the rest he had to say turned into a muffle.  
  
Call filled them in. “It was all about Chaos-ridden people and animals. Getting rid of them, basically.”

“Not Havoc!” Celia said, dark eyes horrified. Call looked pleased with her for having the same reaction he’d had.

Two more waiters came by with plates and snacks. Call took three shrimp toasts from one and a chicken skewer from the other. Jasper piled an enormous amount of food onto his plate and began shoveling his way through it with the determination of a shark.

“Havoc got a pass,” Call said. “But basically Graves is in cleanup mode. Everything that’s left over from the time of the Enemy of Death, he wants erased.”

Tamara was clearly bubbling over with statements. “What about-“ she began, but then looked over at Celia and seemed to think better of it. Celia hadn’t been with them when they’d left the school to try to find Alastair. She didn’t know Call’s secret. “Never mind. We should just have fun tonight. Aaron, come on, dance with me.”

Aaron managed to grab another cheese puff before he was seized by Tamara. He handed his empty plate to Jasper and disappeared into the mass of dancing people in a swirl of Tamara’s yellow skirts.

He caught a glimpse of Call standing there awkwardly with Celia and felt something very unpleasant bubble in his stomach. He brushed it away and made a mental note to find Call later.

 

  
He hadn’t seen Call in a while. He searched around, and he knew it was unreasonable but he was getting worried. He asked Tamara about him but she hadn’t seen him either.

As if he couldn’t panic even further. Tamara must’ve sensed his discomfort because she took his arm and asked Celia about him. She told him that she saw him walk into the Trophy Room.

“I don’t know what he would be doing there.” Celia shook her head, her diamond earrings shaking from side to side.

Aaron looked at Tamara for a brief moment before heading of towards the big doors of the Trophy Room.

They entered, seeing Call whirl around to look at them. Call was entirely alone.

“What are you doing in the Trophy Room?” Tamara asked, frowning. “Are you okay?”

Aaron looked around, puzzled. “Are you hiding in here?” He should have known Call would be uncomfortable with this stuff.

Call’s face grew a little red- much to Aaron’s confusion- and watched as Call looked between Tamara and he multiple times as if-

As if they had come together?

“Are you okay?” Aaron asked, frowning in confusion at Call’s silence. “Celia told us she saw you come this way.”

It looked like relief had washed over Call but then confusion as well.

Call scratched the back of his neck. “Well,” he said, taking a step toward them, “you see —”

He was cut off by a grind and screech, a terrible metallic sound. Call looked up to see the chandelier hurtling toward him, octopus arms and dazzling crystals and all.

“Call!” Tamara screamed. The chandelier tumbled brilliantly down toward Call.

Aaron saw Tamara dive over to Call. Aaron’s hands instinctively flew upwards towards the hurling object, calling on chaos magic so quick he had never done such before.

He held the chandelier midair as Tamara and Call fell to the other side of the room, and he let go, and the sparkling chandelier hit the floor beside them, shattering and exploding into thousands of tiny pieces of glass. It was like a bomb going off. There was a horrible musical shattering. Shards of crystal exploded toward them.

Aaron shot his hand out once more towards Call and Tamara and tendrils of dark chaos curled around his arm and fingers, shooting towards his friends and encasing them protectively.

Tamara was gasping, wide-eyed. Call rolled to the side awkwardly and stared at Aaron, who was standing over them, his hand outstretched. Dark, nebulous chaos spilled from his palm, forming a wall around Tamara and Call, drawing into itself the flying bits of broken glass and crystal from the shattered chandelier. Aaron saw Call try to call out to Aaron, but the chaos sucked away his voice.

And then Aaron dropped his hand and the darkness vanished. He stumbled a little but eventually collapsed against a wall. Never had Aaron felt so spent.

Call staggered to his feet, reaching down to pull Tamara up after him. One of her cheeks had been cut by a piece of flying glass and was bleeding. Tamara was clutching his arm in a death grip, but now that she was standing, he thought she might be holding him up. Call looked to Aaron watching him wide-eyed and breathing hard from exertion.

“What,” Call said in a raspy voice, “just happened?”

Aaron shook his head. All he could think of was: _If I had lost you-_

Before he could answer, the doors flew open and the other partygoers flooded into the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y’all enjoyed. Oh yeah, Call’s from North Carolina so he has a southern accent packed in there.


	4. Chapter 4

I’m very sorry, guys. I’m afraid I’m going to have to put this story on hold for the time being. _I’m sorry, I really truly am._ I’m going to be honest- I tried to make the chapters and I couldn’t. I’m trying to make it something I’m proud of and it just isn’t it.

I’m sorry. I need to get my life in order. What with school and other projects... I know I promised that chapters will be coming every Saturday (I really meant to say Sunday) but I must say it again. I promise you guys- once again- that I will finish this. It may take awhile, but when the next update does come in it will be something I’m proud of and something you’ll enjoy.

 

Thank you guys

-Jenn ;)

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed that ;) There will defiantly be more updates. Every Saturday, just check the tags ^^^


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